Mysterio Girl
by Radio Muses
Summary: Eli is growing obsessed with his new neighbor Clare... This is an AU story and there will be some "stuff" in later chapters. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The first time he sees her is outside sitting on the porch of the newly bought house her parents purchased. She swings her legs absentmindedly much like a small child, except she isn't. She wears a light purple sundress and dark sneakers. She should be around his age maybe a year younger but all he knows so far is that she fascinates him. The sort of fascination he would have toward the road kill his father calls food. She doesn't notice him watching from his porch steps across the street.

She isn't like the other girls

He sees another girl come out from inside; she is wearing something his mom would wear to a date, and not the professional kind. They are sisters. Swinging feet looks up at the older daughter and they exchange glances before the other sister starts to take things out from the open trunk in the drive way.

He sees swinging feet sigh and get up to help her sister. She looks up, sees him, and gives him a small smile before starting to carry boxes into the new home. However he doesn't smile back.

* * *

He tells his mother about her during dinner as he studies what she calls "Salisbury Steak".

"Maybe I will make them some house warming cookies." His mother beams.

"Maybe you should buy them." He suggests.

"Eli!" his mother laughs, "But that would beat the point. I promise they will be perfect."

He only eats a lot less than half and goes up to his room.

His room is a nice size for an only child and is a sandy color. He doesn't mind that though.

From across the street he can see swinging feet with the light on and the faint sound of music erupting like a volcano in her room. She doesn't dance though like he would expect, instead she just sits on her bed and with a laptop, her lips move and she smiles.

He is curious to know who she is talking to.

_It can't be her boyfriend _he thinks, _she's too different._

He likes different.

He stays and watches her for a while just to see what she's doing. When 9 o' clock comes around she closes her laptop and places it on the nightstand, then gets up and turns of her light.

They start school on Monday and he is anticipating it. He wants to be the one who escorts her around the hallways and to take her to her classes. He wants to eat lunch with her and make her laugh because he wonders if it will sound better than her voice which he is sure sounds just as great.

But its only Tuesday and he has to wait six days before he can claim the prize that is his new neighbor.

* * *

The next day he gets up bright and early and takes a shower. He puts on his best shirt and nicest smelling cologne.

He rushes downstairs to see his mother sipping coffee.

"What's the occasion?" she smiles noticing his outfit and smell.

"Are the cookies ready?" He urgently asks.

"Yep, freshly baked." She motions to the place the counter.

"I'll take them." He carefully grabs the plate and walks over to _her _house.

He knocks patiently and hears the opening of locks. He is smiling like a mad man.

Much to his disappointment the older sister opens the door.

Her hair was like a fierce lion's mane, not washed and sticking out in wild directions.

She gives him a strange look before eying the cookie plate.

"These for us." She yawns.

He nods.

She motions for him to come inside. He does, eyes moving frantically to see if _she's_ around.

"Who's there?" he hears a light and mildly tired voice call.

"I don't know. Neighbor?" The older sister replies causally.

He slowly makes his way to the kitchen and sees her.

His smile reappears and he extends the plate to her. She gives a small laugh and takes them.

"Thanks." She grins.

"My mom made them"

"Cool." She replies.

"My name is Eli." He says, "I live across the street."

"Yeah, I saw you outside yesterday. I'm Clare."

Her name suits her. She has a peaceful and calm look about her.

Her hair reminds him of strawberries. It has richness to it and it is lightly curled.

"What school are you going to?" he can't help but ask.

"Degrassi." She answers.

"Me too," he tries not to sound excited.

She smiles again, "Well, I guess I will see you there."

"If you need help finding your classes, I could show you around." He informs her.

Clare nods, "Sounds good."

They stand in the kitchen, doing absolutely nothing.

He takes time to examine her; she's wearing a blue skirt and a plain white shirt. Her shoes are still the same. Eli watches her intensely. He strangely enjoys watching her blink, there's something about her eyelashes.

"So, are you a junior?" She asks.

"Senior." He responds.

"We have to unpack. But, would you and your folks like to come over for dinner tonight? Maybe around eight." She offers.

"Sure, my mom would like that."

She smiles and they walk to the door.

"Bye, Eli." She smiles brightly.

"Bye, Clare."

She waves and he goes back over to his house.

* * *

"Did they like the cookies?" his mother asks.

"I don't know. They invited us over for dinner tonight." He says extremely proud of himself.

"Oh, that sounds nice. Should I make something?" She asks.

"Uh, dessert I guess."

His mother nods and he goes up to his room.

It's still early and he can't sit still. At all.

He walks around the hallway, then sits at his desk and writes about her.

His writing is strangely happy. He doesn't write _happy_ he writes murderous, death, and evil. Him writing like that either means the world is ending or Clare is just really a girl he desperately needs to be around.

Oddly enough his obsessive writing about the girl across the street comes to a screeching halt when his mother informs him it's time to go.

His mother wears a tight cocktail dress and his father wears a button down shirt with slightly ripped pants.

Who would guess they were actually a family? No one.

They appear at the door and his mother hands him the apple pie and knocks on the door.

An older woman appears and smiles.

"You must be Eli's parents, how nice to meet you." The woman eyes his parents with a little disappointment.

_Looking for something?_ Eli thinks sarcastically.

"I'm Cece and this is Bullfrog." His mother motions to her and his father.

"Helen." She says.

"Hello." His father croaks ironically

"My husband won't be able to make it to dinner but that's okay." The older woman says.

"Clare! Darcy!" She shouts.

"Coming mom!" the oh-so-familiar voice calls.

Clare walks down the stairs as a striking vision.

Wearing a light pink dress and low white heels completed with a small white flower on the side of her strawberry blonde hair. When she sees him she smiles.

He replies with a lopsided smirk.

Darcy comes down next in a dark red lace dress and long black heels.

_She probably thinks she_'s _all that._ Eli laughs to himself.

His attention turns back to Clare when she approaches him.

"Nice to see you again." She smiles brightly.

"You too, Clare." He smiles back.

"Come sit." Helen insists.

Eli sits in between Clare and Darcy.

"Sorry again for my husband's absence." Helen says when everyone I seated.

"Yeah, because he doesn't give a shit about us anymore." Darcy says carelessly.

"Darcy!" Helen hisses.

Clare plays with the peas on her plate avoiding the whole dinner table conversation.

_**To Be Continued…**_

I am currently still working on my fanfic Just Dandy but this idea has been in my head for a while so…. There ya go. Read and Review for more. Also, the links to Clare and Darcy's dresses are on my profile.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"What? It's true!" Darcy shouts.

Clare slowly, but awkwardly looks up at Eli and whispers, "Come up to my room?"

Eli nods and they quietly walk up the stairs while the family shouting is still fresh and ongoing.

Clare closes the door to her room, leans against it, and sighs.

"Sorry about that, my sister is just constantly angry with my dad." Clare informs him.

"It's okay." His respond is quick and uncaring because the conversation isn't about Clare.

She sits on her bed and playfully giggles at his very much so serious expression.

"What?" his face contorts into a confused look.

"Oh, nothing." She lets out that laugh he has just been dying to hear all day.

"Tell me." He can't help but chuckle.

"You promise not to think I'm crazy." She says.

"I promise." He nods. He is excited to think she is trusting with his opinion of her sanity.

"I like to watch your window during the day…" she says a little bit quieter than she was a while ago.

"Okay." Eli stretches the word out.

She tries to hide the blush that's forming in her cheeks.

_Its fine, I like to watch your window at night._ He mentally beats himself dead for the thought.

"Its fine." He says instead.

He takes time to examine her room; the walls are a faded pink much like her cheeks at the moment and her bed is up against the window. Her room is pretty empty with the exception of some boxes that are open. The laptop she was using yesterday night is on her bed and he resists the urge to open to see who was talking to her.

"So what do you like doing?" he changes the subject.

"I love to read and write." Her answer is short and sweet like her.

"Me too. I write plays for drama and I am currently writing a story for the _Gothic Tales _comic book contest." He spills out to her, trying to get her to like him

"Whoa! That's amazing! Do you think I could read it? I am a great editor, you know." She smiles.

"That would be great! I still need some advice on the ending. I've changed it like four times already." Before he knows it his legs move to sit beside her.

The same blush as before returns slightly redder, "Yeah, how about tomorrow? We could meet at your house and talk about it." She suggests.

"Sounds cool." He agrees. For the moment he doesn't think about the writing he thinks about _her_ over at _his_ house for the day.

"Eli!" his mother shouts.

He lets out a groan, "Mother calls…" he says in a mocking tone.

She lets out another laugh, Bye, Eli."

"Bye, Clare."

* * *

On his family's short walk across the street to their home his mother shatters the silence with, "You see Eli, and you thought our family was bad."

Right there Eli's defenses are up in a flash, "Clare is too good for that family."

"I see you have taken a liking to her." His mother teases.

_Way more than a liking._ He thinks to himself.

* * *

The next day he is rushing back and forth like a mad man in attempt to make sure his room is sparkly clean.

_Clare likes neat and organized guys… right? _He wonders.

Random papers are being stuffed into the trash and his sloppy bed is being made so Clare could sit comfortably.

"I have to make sure that my desk is clean incase she wants to sit there too!" He rushes over to his desk to put papers in neat piles.

He sweeps his room a good five times before he is satisfied with it.

He gets on Facerange and searches for her.

**Clare Edwards **_**1 mutual friend**_

_Who knew her before he did? _

Clicking on it K.C's profile popped up.

Carefully going into his drawer he takes he takes a little white pill and swallows it. It takes a couple of minutes before it to settle in and when it does he is ready to face the rest of the day.

He spends the remaining hours checking his story for any errors because if she sees them she might think different of him.

When his mother opens his door he looks up quickly, "Is she here?"

"Downstairs, waiting." His mother smiles and goes to her room.

He rushes down the stairs and sees she is having a conversation with his dad.

"It's weird ya know. You just move here and he is already opened his door to you. No girl's ever been here besides-"

"Hey, Clare!" He shouts purposely cutting off his father's sentence. She doesn't need to know, at least not now.

She looks up at him and shows him her two rows of pearly whites.

He motions for her to come upstairs.

"It was nice talking to you." She smiles at Bullfrog.

She walks up to him and he guides her to his room.

"Your dad is really nice." She tells him.

He doesn't respond he just simply opens his laptop and opens the file.

"Do you want to read it here or on the bed?" He looks over to see her playing with a loose string on her sweater.

"Huh…Oh, I'll read it on the desk." She quickly stands up and walks over to the desk he gets up so she can sit and he leans to the side of the desk so he can see her face.

Her eyes are immediately glued to the screen as she reads. He is pleased with her surprised facial expression towards the middle.

Her mouth is open and eyes get wider and wider towards the end. He is smirking through the whole thing.

Finally she turns to him and he quickly pretends to not be concentrated on her.

"Eli…this is…it was just…the most disturbing thing I have ever read!" she says.

His face drops and he feels like he just got punched in the gut.

"Oh! No, no, no! Not like that! I loved it. It scared me. And the fact that it was still a love story was great too."

He lets out a relieved sigh, "So no corrections or changes?"

"Nope, it was perfect." She chimes.

He smiles triumphantly, "Great. So what do you want to do now?"

"We could play a game." She looks at him like a small child.

He raised an eyebrow, "What kind of game?"

"I was thinking 20 questions."

_Not what I was hoping for but that's fine too…_ he thinks.

* * *

**Okay so next chapter is going to be their "Little Game" and it's going to include the first day of school.**

**Read and Review: D**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Degrassi**

**Chapter 2**

"Okay, you first." Clare says with a bright smile.

He asks his question immediately, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Kind of... I don't know." She replies.

"What do you mean?" He tilts his head to the side curiously.

"It's my turn. "She chirps.

_Straight shooter_ he thinks.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"Clare asks ask almost innocently.

"Used to." Eli says with an insecure shrug.

"Oh." Clare responds in a whisper.

"Who's the guy?" He asks anxiously.

"His name is KC, we met on Facerange."

He knows KC; he is that asshole that is always on the basketball court at Degrassi. He shouldn't have the _privilege _to even breathe the same air as someone as perfect as Clare Edwards.

Instead of making a comment on it he responds with, "It's your turn."

After that the questions are just on what they like and some other random things.

* * *

Eli can't help but go over the ideas that are swimming around in that _Oh, so clever_ head of his. He quickly logs on to Facerange in attempt to put his thoughts into action.

His fingers twitch in anticipation as he goes onto KC's account and tries to see what he is going to do in the following days.

_**Going to practice my skills tomorrow at Degrassi :p**_

_Target Locked_ Eli smirks.

* * *

The next day Eli makes his way to the Degrassi basketball courts that happen to be open from time to time for the players whom have nothing better to do during the summer. He spots KC shooting the orange basketball into the hoop one last time and wiping his disgusting sweaty forehead. KC doesn't hear Eli come into the locker room due to the fact he is listening to music on his IPod. Eli lets out an animal like sound before tackling KC from the back into the hard tiled wall. KC lets out a whimper as he is violently slammed into the wall.

"Please," KC coughs out, "My wallet is in my duffel bag. Take whatever you want."

Eli roars with laughter, "I could take your life then, am I right."

"Please don't." KC struggles to say as Eli pushes his body harder into the wall.

"You're right. You are not even worth the time." Eli forcefully shoves KC harder into the wall.

"I...Cah-ant...Bree-thhe." KC tries to get out.

"If you want to continue to breathe I highly suggest never speaking, interacting, or even thinking about Clare Edwards...EVER." Eli hisses directly into KC's ear.

KC weakly nods. Eli roughly rams KC one more time into the wall causing KC to fall to the floor with a loud _thump_ and clutch his stomach and chest.

"It was nice speaking to you." Eli replies smugly.

Leaving the locker room Eli straightens out his jacket and walks back home confidently.

* * *

The first time he sees her cry is on Saturday. She is all bent out of shape because KC won't respond to her messages or calls.

_I did the right thing. _He tells himself over and over in his head_. KC doesn't deserve to have her._

_"_I don't get it," she sobs, "I thought he liked me."

Eli like the _good, caring, and affectionate_ person he is lets her blue eyes pretty much bleed out on his shoulder.

"It's okay; he just doesn't know a good thing when he sees it." Eli soothes.

"Sometimes I feel like no one will ever understand or like me, ya know." She sniffles.

He knows exactly what she means and before he can control it he blurts out, "I like you."

She looks up at him with her big blues and wraps her arms around his neck before bringing him down into her warm embracing hug. He feels like the heaven he doesn't even believe in just sent him a wakeup call slap to the face. Clare Edwards just hugged him for the first time. His heart rate speeds up like some pathetic 6th grader who just got a boner for the first time.

Before he knows it she pulls away, "You are such a good _friend_, Eli"

_Well Shit, I am stuck in the friend zone_. He painfully admits to himself.

**A/N well that's the chapter. Hope you liked it. Reviews make my day. Oh and sorry if it was short. I promise I will make it up to you next chapter. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Degrassi**

**Chapter 3**

Friend Zone. Why the hell did he being in the friend zone with Clare hurt him as much as it did? He had been avoiding her for the past few days and he even changed the ending to his story… again. He still won't admit that he isn't feeling this whole "Friend" situation at all.

Eli begins to regret his brilliant plan with KC. He thinks KC would have broken her heart in a matter of months and Clare would come running back to him. It sounded bulletproof until that one minor detail.

_KC won't even look at her anymore._

Eli lets out a frustrated sigh and soothes his aching forehead as he plops down onto his bed. With school starting in less than 12 hours Eli is going to have a panic attack.

"Eli," he mothers voice says from behind the door, "can Clare come in,"

He immediately shoots off his bed and rips open his door. His mothers face is scrunched up in confusion and Clare's big blue doe eyes are looking straight into his, her head is slightly tilted to the side like some curious animal.

"I just needed to ask you some questions. They mailed my schedule and I just wanted to…" she trailed off, her eyes turning less doe after each word and head slowly leaning downwards.

"Okay the, come in…I guess," Eli slowly moves to the side to let her come through. When she does her floral dress sways and her flats make an awkward _Thump _after each step almost as if she is dreading stepping foot in his house. He is almost upset at her physical appearance, her round eyes are circled darkly and her smile isn't as "Pleased to meet you!" as it usually is.

His mother closes the door and he can hear her faint footsteps going down the stairs. Clare clears her throat trying to get his attention. When he turns to Clare her eyes are watery and she extends the folded piece of paper for him to take. As eager as he is, he accidentally snatches the paper causing her to wince at him.

"Sorry," he mumbles opening the paper.

_Dear Clare._

_ I really like you but I was sort of told not to ever come near you. I don't know who the guy even is. He attacked me and threatened me. I know you think I'm lying or whatever but I am not, I swear to God._

Eli can feel his stomach twist and turn and he lets out a cough as if it is some sort of signal for it to stop. He can't even swear to God because he doesn't believe in him.

_Please don't hate me forever. I think I saw his eyes, they were green and he had dark hair for sure. His face I didn't get a good look at though. The point is, school starts tomorrow and I hope we can face each other without out hate. I really hope you believe me._

_ Sincerely,_

_ KC_

He looks up scared shitless because he knows she knows and she doesn't even have her schedule in her other hand.

"Clare, I-"

"Eli, why would you do that? You knew how much I liked him," She got up and shoved his chest harshly with her pointed finger, "He couldn't even hand me the letter himself because he was so frightened! He threw at my sister when he saw me coming down the stairs! I mean, I mean, just why?" She breathes heavily sitting down on his bed again running her hand through her curls.

"I really liked you, that's all," Eli whispers softly looking at her with pleading green eyes.

"Stop doing that!" She shouts getting ready to pull her hair out.

"Doing what," he ends up whimpering in surprise. He has never seen her so angry.

"Those _Puss in Boots _eyes, they make you look sorry," Clare's voice lowers.

"I am," he tries to grab her hand but immediately fails when she recoils it like a child who just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"No," Clare wipes her tears with the back of her hand and gets up.

Eli doesn't bother to try and stop her because if he does, most likely there will be a slap coming his way.

"You leave KC alone; he is a _good_ person," she warns, her steps growing faint as she exits his home. When he hears the front door slam her chokes on a sob and the tears begin their April showering because he can't seem to hold back anymore. With a low whine he gets onto his bed grabs his pillow and lets out a scream in it. He has definitely fucked up now.

XoXo

His alarm clock wakes him up bright and early and his eyes slowly adjust from thin slits to open wide so he can rub them clean of hard green specks that lie in the corners. Today there are more than just two or three because he did in fact spend at least four out of his eight hours of sleeping crying. He hears his mother's gentle knock on his bedroom door, "Eli, sweetie it's time to wake up,"

"I'm up mom," his voice is croak like and it startles him mostly because he always hoped he would have his father's frog like voice.

"Alright then, I have breakfast ready for you in the kitchen. I am going to work. I love you," she tries.

"Bye mom," he sighs , "I love you too," at that moment he knows dinner is going to be good because it is rare from him to reply with an "I love you too".

He drags his tired ass out of bed and brushes his teeth so hard a pretty decent amount of toothpaste he spits out is a creamy red and when he smiles to see his work; his gums are red and still slightly oozing. He tries to sooth them with his warm tongue and it thankfully works. He doesn't want to go to school at all but he needs to see her, to make things right. It's the least she deserves.

He gets dressed in a navy blue long sleeved shirt and a black sweater with some skinny jeans. It is a normal first day of your last year outfit for him so why not? Morty is outside waiting so he eats his mother's warm oatmeal and gets into the Death Mobile as his peers call it and drives to Degrassi.

After he parks he sees Adam and his Cheshire cat smile as he waves from the side of where he is parked.

Eli grabs his backpack and slings it over one shoulder and walks to the front of the building with Adam jogging up to him.

"Hey, Eli! What's up? How was your summer?" He questions excited to start the New Year.

"Peachy," Eli grumbles picking up his pace to reach the front door and avoid running into KC. He knows as nice and caring as Clare is she would tell KC her neighbor almost killed him, so it is probably best for Eli to keep some distance.

"Ooof!" Adam says falling to the floor along with another body. Rolling his eyes Eli turns to extend his hand to Adam and the other person.

After lifting Adam off the ground, Eli meets blue eyes and guilt creeps up into his features.

"Sorry," He mumbles bringing his hand closer for the person to grab.

"I don't need your help, emo boy," Fitz scoffs and gets himself up before giving Adam a glare and walking the other direction.

Those blue eyes weren't Clare's but seeing the color blue throughout the halls would end up making him nauseous in no time at all.

"I apologize for my clumsiness," Adam says dusting himself off. Walking up the hall to get a head start on rearranging their lockers before the bell rings like some other around them, Eli sets his bag down and unzips it.

"Guess what Simpson is making us do this year," Adam starts a conversation.

"What is Simpson making us do this year?" Eli replies mockingly.

"Buddy system. Seniors pair up with juniors, and sophomores with freshman."

"Goody," Eli groans closing up his locker.

The bell rings and the halls begin to fill with students."I have English," Eli says and walks away.

Brushing by Ms. Dawes, he sits in his seat located in the very back of the classroom. As the class takes their seats, Ms Dawes makes an announcement.

"Class, welcome back. We have a new student this year, Clare. Come up and tell the class a little about yourself. "

He eyes meet hers and she frowns, "My name is Clare Edwards, I just moved here and, um… yeah." The class snickers and whispers among themselves and Clare looks at the teacher for further direction.

"Clare, sweetie go ahead and sit by Eli in the back," She says. Clare nods and walks down towards him. His heart beats faster and he holds his breath. From the corner of his eye he can see her sit next to him and he doesn't dare move.

"The person next to you will be your partner the rest of the year. All of your work here will be done together except for test of course," Ms. Dawes statement causes a few groans and high fives and Eli slowly looks over at Clare who just looks straight ahead.

_What a long ass year _He thinks.

** A/N: Sorry for the wait. Read and Review if I should write more.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Degrassi or Too Shy.**

Chapter 4

Degrassi's annual Student Showcase was today and Ms. Dawes was extra thrilled to have one of Eli's pieces be read aloud in front of roughly 80% of the school and their parents. And on top of that, Ms. Dawes took the liberty of calling his parents yesterday afternoon to let them know what a wonder writer he is and they should defiantly come to support him and the school. Clare still refuses to talk to him about anything besides English so he was forever in the doghouse.

Cece gushes over how handsome he looks while she straightens out the red tie and the collar of his black button down shirt. He cups his face and he groans, "Mom, please," Cece giggles and pats her hair nervously before tugging her dress down a little. His father beeps the horn of their car obnoxiously for the fourth time outside and his mother rolls her eyes. "Come on, Sweetie," she lightly shoves him towards the door and snatches the black leather purse from the kitchen table.

"Bout time," Bullfrog grumbles from the front seat as Eli buckles up in the back. He has been getting grouchier and grouchier every day and Eli just assumes that old age is really just screwing him over … or it could be the lack of _action_ from his mother. But it's probably best not to get into that at the moment. The parking lot at school is borderline full and Bullfrog's constant complaints are causing a major headache.

"There is still time to turn back you know?" Eli tries.

"Oh Elijah, this is going to be the first time we see you up there in the spotlight. Don't be silly," Cece coos, "Besides I'm sure Helen and Clare will be there,"

The mention of her name makes his stomach flip and his hands shake abnormally. But deep down he can feel the instant regret of writing what he wrote, because it is loosely based on her and Eli has a feeling Ms. Dawes knows too, "Are you and Helen best friends now?" He asks with slight attitude.

"Eh, watch your tone boy," Bullfrog scolds. Cece gives a nervous laugh, "I actually ran into her at the store the other day. She explained how Clare just admires your writing and then she mentioned the Showcase," Cece tries to shrug to make it seem less of a big deal but Eli's eyes light up.

"Sh-she does?" he asks immediately sitting up straight in need of more. Cece nods as Bullfrog parks in the handicapped space. Cece arches an eyebrow at him and he says, "No one is going to park here anyway,"

Cece shakes her head and they exit the car. They enter the building and are greeted by Holly J and Fiona who give them color printed papers with designs that read _Welcome to Degrassi's Student Showcase! _Fiona leads Eli to the back of the auditorium curtains and his heart beating picks up dramatically knowing Clare is going to be there. "Good Luck!" Fiona smiles handing him his writing and Eli responds with a nod. Sav pats his shoulder knowingly and goes past the curtains and announces what this is all about. Eli sits on one of the chairs left for the students and his right leg shakes. _This is it _he tells himself, _after this she'll know how you feel about her._

"Please give a warm welcome to Elijah Goldsworthy!" Sav shouts.

Eli drags himself out of the chair like a zombie and the closer he gets to the stage the lower the applause sounds. There is an awkward silence when his mouth is on the microphone and when he gulps it echoes throughout the room. He spots his mother in the crowd and she is nodding in approval for him to do his thing. Clearing his throat he begins.

_She'd been my best friend since we were nine_

_I'd stare at her face and her hair wishing she was mine_

_She didn't like me like that and that was fine because I was with her all the time_

_She'd ask for class notes from the day before and kiss my cheek but I wanted something more._

_I was trying to tell her_

_Straight from my core, that I loved her_

_But I was too shy_

_And I don't know why_

He looks up for a moment and his mother smiles widely giving him small thumbs up to continue.

_She was a dancer_

_One that was graceful and pretty_

_Her dream was to dance at New York City_

_Dedicated and hardworking, she wanted to succeed _

_While I'd just sit around and write things no one would ever read_

_The shore was where we used to spend time together_

_I wanted to tell her there that she was more than just a friend_

_That I loved her_

_But I was just too shy again_

_So then it's late at night when my phone begins to ring_

_She'd call me and cry, she'd tell me everything_

_She was down and feeling UN admired_

_But in a selfish way, I felt inspired_

_Because when things went wrong, it was me she desired_

_I should have said the words, but I was too shy and tired_

_Then there were the times I'd perform for her but she'd never seemed impressed_

_But how could one expect her too_

_She'd had more talent than anyone else possessed_

_Flawless in her dancing, flawless in the way she dressed, flawless in her school work_

_I was so obsessed_

_A day passed, a month, and then a year_

_A diploma, a future, then a career_

_The plan was too tell her and keep her near_

_But I was I was lay in the draw and soon she disappeared_

_Every chance that escaped, all the times I'd held near_

_The talks in her back yard, laughing until tears_

_I wanted to tell her I loved her despite my fear_

_But I was too shy to keep her here_

_Though the distance kept us apart and away_

_Our friendship remained_

_Her husband was successful_

_White collar by day_

_But I remained the struggling writer with too much to say _

_So many years later I've grown old and somewhat bitter_

_While I was a wasted soul, a lie, a quitter_

_And then, one day my phone rang_

_It was her husband on the line_

_The girl I loved for 60 years was gone at 69_

_Now paying respects to the girl I'd loved eternal_

_With feelings unshared and kept internal_

_Until her husband offered me her high school journal._

Looking up at the audience sheepishly _she _catches his eye. Clare is wearing a simple light blue floral dress and a black ribbon on the side of her head. Her lip is quivering slightly and he isn't sure why. Looking back to his mother she is wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands and his father is rubbing her back soothingly. The crowd is watching him intensely and Ms. Dawes has her camera out recording him with a grin from ear to ear. So with that, he gets ready to finish up.

_He's been my best friend ever since we were nine_

_I'd stare at him everyday wishing he was mine_

_I want to hell him, but I don't want to put our friendship on the line_

_I can only hope that he can read my signs_

_I see him staring back at me sometimes, but then he always looks away_

_I can't decide if he loves me back, or just wants things to stay_

_I know if he truly feels it he'll find it in himself to say, that I am more than just a friend to him_

_But I can't keep waiting everyday_

_He just seems too shy, too shy and I don't know why_

_That's not how the story really ends_

_Because I'm not shy anymore._

The first thing he hears is the immense clapping of the whole auditorium and he can hear Fiona and Holly J whistling from the back. Then he hears his mother's sobbing and he playfully rolls his eyes. There is going to be a whole lot of smothering when this is over. Eli's attention turns back to Clare whose eyes are watery and blue and he can't help but wonder if she knows this was for her. But she gets up and exits the doors. He is scared she's mad again and walks off the stage and his shoulders slump and so do his legs.

But he is surprised to see her standing there. Before he can open his mouth to say some sort of apology her arms extend and hug him before bringing his face down to kiss her. And Oh boy is he having a panic attack. His heart beats erratically and he smiles brightly into the kiss and his hands run through those soft cinnamon locks and life is suddenly perfect.

**AN: I only got 4 reviews for last chapter and it was kind of disappointing but I hope you guys enjoyed this. But any who please review and if you are wondering about Eli's poem. No I didn't write it sadly. It was actually a short film if you want to check it out on youtube it is call Too Shy and the channel is hutchbabyproductions. It is really worth watching, I actually cried when I first saw it but anyway. Review and all that good stuff. "D**


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